October Digging Results

                                                         Story
                                                          By
                                                      Carl Barnes

Well folks, it hasn't been the most productive year for privy excavation, but we have found some real productive sites, and this story is no exception. Scott has been quite busy with his new job as a Falcon pilot, so this article is co-written by me, Carl. I have known Scott for almost 5 years now. He was my flight instructor and a big influence on my life as it is today. I used to make fun of his bottle digging and jokingly tell him about empty liquor bottles I had seen on my drive in. After showing me his collection, and inviting me to come along on several digs, I quickly became hooked, and now have over 200 pieces in my collection. Now on with the story.

After visiting a possible site in the Detroit area and being unable to contact the property owner, we migrated to Clinton Michigan , which through the years has yielded very few disappointing digs. After exploring a neighborhood for possible sites, we converged upon a house which exhibited sings of construction that placed it in the 1850-1860's era. Excited about the possibilities of pontiled glass, we struck up conversation with some local kids hanging around in the back yard. They seemed instantly knowledgeable about our favorite pastime (which is rare) and a sixth grader who we befriended named Jimmy expressed his interest in digging locally. I think it was when he said "I'd like to dig the houses next to the park, but I heard it is difficult to get permission on residences" that's when Scott and I looked at each other in amazement. Apparently, two years prior, some out-of-state diggers had come through and had excavated one privy already. The kids thought it was fascinating (probably the whole buried treasure concept), and had instantly taken a liking to the sport.
The news of the other diggers was discouraging, but as you will see, the difference between professionals and amateurs is that professionals meticulously probe a yard, exploring all possibilities, while amateurs are less patient and are quick to move on when something doesn't fall in their lap.

We introduced ourselves to the next door neighbor of the previously dug house, and briefly explained our fascination with urban archaeology. He seemed to know what we were getting at and told us to "go for it". He let us know that the other diggers I mentioned earlier had probed his yard and had not come up with anything.

The excitement grew as we brought the equipment out and saw the derelict brick foundation of the early structure. We dutifully probed every square foot of the yard, which yielded two possibilities. After a test hole was dug in each location, it was obvious that we were standing on top of two privies, perhaps older than we had dug all year. As we broke ground, the kids became interested and provided us with a flurry of questions about what kind of artifacts we find, and had we ever found buried treasurechests.

As the day wore on, they spoke of digging their own houses, and asked our advice on several issues. I advised them to wear as much protective clothing as possible including leather boots, gloves, glasses, long sleeve sweatshirts, and jeans. As you can see in the pictures, much of the excavated material from a privy is broken glass and china, and rusty sharp metal objects. The potential for injury is constant.

Scott instinctively picked the oldest pit in the yard, which yielded a nice assortment of pontiled glass. I was not complaining either though; a yellow Hostetters Stomach Bitters, green shoulder-embossed carters ink, ceramic London master ink and a plethora of other 1880's bottles emerged, all products of my pit.
As is the case with fall digs, we quickly ran out of daylight, and resorted to headlights and flashlights to finish the dig.
The moral of the story is being patient, be persistent, and leave no stone unturned.
Regards,
Carl

Here is Carl with some early finds, he is still in the test hole phase! Very YELLOW michigan beer, and a bennington tea pot, both broken. That little boy behind him was pretty smart!

Here is a MULBERRY - DAVENPORT - CYPRUS pattern bowl. I wonder if it's cracked???

I couldn't believe it! It was in PERFECT condition. This is a VERY early transferware manufacturer from england. They customarily stamped the bottoms of thier work with the date in an anchor, the date is 1853! WOW WEEE

Carl sitting in his little scratch hole! Gotta open those up buddy! He's got a large english master ink here, and an early hinge mold bottle.

Carl's pit was used between the years of 1870 to the 1890. It was loaded with bottles and stuff. What a day!

The pit I was working on was in operation I would guess from about 1850 to 1865, evendenced by this little pontiled A. TRASK'S MAGNETIC OINTMENT.

Check out this almost pontiled DEEMICK'S CAPILLARY BALM FOR THE HAIR.

This pit was great, I hadn't been in anything this old in a long time. I needed it bad! Look at these pontiled beauties ready to show themselves. I get all fired up just looking at this picture!

Pontiled (see the bottom) PROFESSOR WOOD'S HAIR RESTORER DEPOT.

Let's get back over to Carl's pit and see how he's doing. From the looks of this shoulder embossed dark teal CARTER'S cone ink, and pontiled puff, I would say pretty darn good.

On any Sunday.

For being over 6 feet tall, Carl can sure get himself into some small spaces. I guess those contortionist classes he's taking at the community college are paying off!.

Well, the sun has set, and we are putting the finishing touches on this lawn. You can't tell, but that is the spot Carl was digging, not to shabby.

Good digging, and happy holidays.